The Woods
by dragoon811
Summary: Hermione and Harry are alone in the woods, but when he goes to retrieve the sword Ron doesn't show. How can the tale move forward? (SSHG, Complete)


Written for the 2016 SSHG-Promptfest, my prompter was the fantastic leontinabowie, whose prompt was: "AU of DH where Ron can't find his way back. After almost drowning in the lake, Harry only survives when he is trapped by the locket in a trance-like state. Hermione cries out for help, and Severus answers (SS/HG or SS & HG)."

 **Author's Note:** I just want to say a super huge thank you to adelarchersnape for being my beta, and to my cheerleaders for cheering me on as I threw out my first go in favour of the fervor that grabbed me and demanded to do this. And of course, thank you to you, for reading this. :)

* * *

 **The Woods**

The woods are quiet, the woods are cold  
As cold as his bitter heart lingering  
On the fear of failure that guides his path  
As snow crunches under foot

The woods are dark, the woods are lonely  
Harry withdrawn and Ron missing  
Fear and loneliness she pushes away  
Clinging to hope

The woods are friendless, the woods are deep  
The sword beneath the ice now sinking  
Severus makes his way back to the tent  
And the children hiding therein

Harry takes his shift without many words  
Hermione leaves backwards glancing  
For can her friend fight the locket  
Strung so horribly around his neck?

The tent is quiet, the tent is dark  
She lies in her bunk with her fingers questing  
Logic dictates to fight the sadness  
A release of hormones

The boy is silent, the boy is watchful  
Never does he check the warding  
Severus envies him his faithful friend  
And the protections she has woven

The tent is silent, the tent is lonely  
As she comes softly keening  
A name she knows she cannot have  
A secret she will not reveal

The boy waits, the boy stares  
Until Severus is whispering  
The silver doe is now at his feet  
And Potter follows her onwards

The tent is still, the tent is warm  
But no Harry is she hearing  
Hermione seeks him out  
And sees only footsteps

Severus waits, Severus watches  
With panic his heart is beating  
For bubbles rise and Potter not appears  
He dives into the water after him

Hermione follows, Hermione fears  
A small pool is she nearing  
Harry lies upon the snow as  
A familiar man crouched beside him

The air goes in, the air goes out  
Heartbeat but not breathing  
Severus breathes for him  
Rhythm on his chest

The air goes in, the air goes out  
On his own is Harry breathing  
A twig snaps behind him  
And Severus leaps to his feet

Hermione cries out, Hermione rushes forward  
But Severus is fleeing  
Her words, her pleas for aid  
Stop him in his tracks

He cannot resist, he cannot say no  
And finds himself returning  
To the side of his friend's son  
And the student he admires

She cannot believe, she cannot be right  
But on their side he is remaining  
True to the light and their secret spy  
The man whom she admires

Harry is silent, Harry is still  
Save for his chest with each rise and falling  
He breathes and lives  
And yet he does not wake

Hermione holds his hand, Severus tries his spells  
But his eyes are open yet unseeing  
A trance they do suppose  
And measures must be taken

They dress him, they bathe him  
Keep him fed with blankets warming  
To the school Severus must return to their side  
Bringing tomes for her to peruse

* * *

The halls echo, the halls are lonely  
And he finds himself longing  
To return to that sheltered tent  
Away from his hated role

Books old, books new  
Each volume he is taking  
Filled with knowledge dark and light  
To provide them with their answers

His arm burns, his arm aches  
To the floor the books are falling  
Severus answers the call as he must  
And finds himself at the Manor

He enters, he greets his master  
At bare feet he is kneeling  
And a boy is brought in  
Caught by Snatchers

The boy is bruised, the boy is beaten  
But it is Ronald Weasley he is seeing  
Only Occlumency helps  
To keep his surprise in check

He is ordered, he obeys  
It is Legilimency he is employing  
He seeks first if the Dark Lord  
Has already sought this knowledge

He is relieved, he is glad  
When he sees the truth the boy is keeping  
Small comfort is the only thing he can give him  
Withdrawing from his mind

Severus talks, Severus grimaces  
So smoothly is he speaking  
That his lies are gladly taken  
As the truth

The Dark Lord is angry, the Dark Lord is displeased  
'Avada Kedavra' is he speaking  
As Severus looks on without emotion  
And Draco looks onward stricken

He is ordered, he obeys  
And the Manor is he leaving  
Not to Hogwarts as directed  
But to the witch he left alone

Hermione waits, Hermione hopes  
When a _crack_ she is hearing  
She darts outside the tent  
To see him fall to his knees

Severus retches, Severus gasps  
This double life he is hating  
The deaths he cannot abide  
The guilt upon his shoulders worse

Someone lays a hand upon his arm, someone helps him to his feet  
His eyes are wild and still unseeing  
Beyond the horrors of that night  
Of the boy whose death he brought

He apologises, he tells his tale  
Of how a lie is killing  
Of how 'the witch erased his memories'  
Brought the Dark Lord to murder

Hermione gasps, Hermione cries  
But it is upon his shoulder she is leaning  
She does not blame him for his part  
He offers her some comfort

The tent is dark, the woods are quiet  
And when she ceases weeping  
She tells him it is not his fault  
That Ron was true and must have understood

Now he cries, now he feels  
In his breast his heart is aching  
An onslaught of pain he did not know  
Resided in him released

They are quiet, they are calm  
Two hearts are healing  
When dawn comes he leaves  
And returns at dusk with books

She researches, he returns to school  
With tension both are simmering  
He strives to keep the students in check  
To keep the little idiots safe

She reads his books, he returns to her  
No answers she is finding  
He aids her in the quiet of the night  
Awkwardly seated beside her on her bunk

Harry is quiet, Harry lies still  
Aware of what is happening  
He listens to his friend and professor  
Strive to find the solution to his state

Hermione glances, Severus blushes  
At the feelings they're engendering  
Dangerous emotions in a time of war  
But neither can turn back

They embrace, they kiss  
Their limbs entangling  
They find themselves in bed  
Entwined and naked

She wakes, he is gone  
Hermione hopes he is not fleeing  
But Severus feels shame  
For how can he have done that with his student

She waits, he returns  
His cheeks flushed and heating  
He does not speak of their night  
But instead hands her more books

They read, they research  
But no answers are forthcoming  
The locket is stuck fast to Harry's chest  
And he does not wake

Time passes, time moves on  
And their feelings are not fleeting  
Severus and Hermione draw closer  
And can no longer deny their love

Nights kept warm, nights kept alive  
To each other naked they are clinging  
Severus cannot deny his shameful lust  
And Hermione cannot let him go

The tent is warm, the tent is quiet  
A haven of their making  
Filled with love and hope and books  
Despite questions asked without reply

* * *

Harry sleeps, Harry lies still  
Heartbeat steady as his breathing  
He wonders when he will wake  
For every day the thought of victory seems further away

With no answer, with no hope  
Harry's banner they are raising  
They trace the path of Ravenclaw  
And plan to get the Cup

Severus plots, Severus waits  
To Gringotts he is going  
Under false pretenses  
He enters the vault of the LeStranges

One destroyed, many to go  
Yet one secret is he keeping  
The sword remains in the tent  
Beside the boy who lived to die

Hermione sleeps, Severus lies beside her  
His heart forever in her keeping  
He could not leave her now  
He would jeopardise the war for her

Harry waits, Harry stares without sight  
He knows what is happening  
Between the two in the tent with him  
He is starting to understand why as well

Hermione frets, Hermione worries  
For a secret she is keeping  
But how to tell her lover  
When so much rests upon his shoulders

Severus reads, Severus researches  
Into Darker tomes he is delving  
Into sacrifice and soul magic  
He hopes to find a solution

He talks, she cries  
As his past he is revealing  
The truth of his past love  
And of Harry's scar

Hermione waits, Severus returns  
A strange book he is clasping  
With a grimace he shows her  
The only possible way to wake her friend

Harry is lifted, Harry is Apparated  
To Hogwarts they are going  
He feels the air as he is flown  
To the Headmaster's tower

Hermione waits, Hermione shivers  
The spring air is cooling  
But what they need lies in Hogwarts walls  
And in Severus's private chambers

He holds her close, he holds her tight  
Through the air she is flying  
Safely wrapped in wool-clad arms  
As he powers them through the sky

They gather, they prepare  
And start the potion brewing  
But blood it requires and magic spent  
And she joins him at the knife

His blood, her blood  
In the brew intermingling  
They shared the burden of the magic  
As it bubbled she confessed her secret

Severus sat, Hermione waited  
The news he was processing  
His head lifted and he looked at her  
His heart in his eyes

He wept, she wept  
As he caressed the life they were creating  
And through it all  
Harry waited

The potion brewed, the potion cooled  
When finished they incanting  
Poured it upon the Horcrux  
Which shrieked and cracked and perished

Harry blinked, Harry woke  
And saw his best friend crying  
Hermione hugged him in relief  
And he returned the embrace

They talked, they listened  
Of the information they had been finding  
Ring and locket and cup and diary were gone  
Snake away and Ravenclaw missing

They planned, they plotted  
Then through the halls they were going  
Three times they paced as Severus hid  
The room opened to reveal Neville

Harry entered, Hermione followed  
Until Draco Malfoy he was seeing  
He lunged at the blond  
A cry of pain and loss upon his lips

They tussled, the others cried out  
For Ron's death he was blaming  
The Malfoy heir  
Who cried and fought to be heard

Neville cursed, Hermione shrieked  
Apart the two boys they were dragging  
And revealed to Harry Malfoy's change of heart  
And how he had joined their resistance and cause

Harry accepted, Malfoy shrugged  
What Harry sought he was explaining  
Luna knew what he should seek  
But it was Draco who knew where to look

They left, they paced  
Into the room Harry and Draco were going  
Past treasures and items of students past  
To the cabinet and the bust wearing a wig

The diadem glimmered, the diadem waited  
Together the sword they were swinging  
It perished with a scream and spewing of blackness  
Draco grabbed his arm in pain

Harry emerged, Draco followed  
To find Ginny crying  
Finally told of her brother's sacrifice  
But the two had more bad news

Voldemort had known, Voldemort was on his way  
To Hogwarts with an army was he coming  
There was no time for tears  
The Order must be rallied

Coins used, Patronuses sent  
The others heeded the calling  
Hermione hotly defended Severus  
Who gave himself no excuses or defense

* * *

Plans laid, plans made  
Preparations underway and waiting  
McGonagall and the rest took the Carrows down  
And the castle was brought to arms

Hermione clung, Severus embraced  
In the quiet moment they were stealing  
She whispered that she loved him  
He vowed he would fight by her side

No one sees, and no one hears  
The two lovers in their meeting  
They rejoin the rest determined  
To end the Dark Lord's reign

He's here, he's here  
The Dark Lord is approaching  
Too soon the battle is engaged  
With forces on either side arranged

They wait, they wait  
And then the wards are falling  
With a cry the fight is started  
And Neville leads the charge

Harry seeks, Draco seeks  
For Nagini they are looking  
The snake is found within a cage  
Floating above the Dark Lord's head

Hermione jinxes, Severus hexes  
Back to back they are fighting  
Taking down the Death Eaters  
Who once believed him their ally

Remus fights, Tonks fights  
A way for Harry they are clearing  
Fred falls beneath a curse  
And George avenges him heart-broken

The Sorting Hat, the second choice  
And the Sword is Neville swinging  
He slices through Nagini's cage  
And she falls down lifeless

Spells called, rocks shattered  
And Molly Weasley is shouting  
'Not my daughter you bitch'  
And Bellatrix cackles no more

Wands flash, spellfire abounds  
And someone is screaming  
A curse jet-black and he takes it for his love  
Is it her crying out as his eyes close

She screams, she snarls  
Before her foes are falling  
Hermione plants herself above Severus  
His form still and unmoving

She fights, she fights  
To move she is unwilling  
She will defend her fallen love  
Until a curse strikes her from behind

Lioness down, lioness defeated  
For Severus she is reaching  
The blood pools under her and  
She grasps his hand as she knows no more

* * *

Darkness, sadness  
He hears people crying  
Severus awakens to the Hospital Wing packed  
With witches and wizards and bodies

He struggles, they hold him down  
Due to pain he is subsiding  
His fervent questions go unanswered  
As to where Hermione has gone

They don't understand, they have no answers  
Out of bed he is sneaking  
Clinging to walls he searches the castle  
Pain coiling along his spine

He falters, he sags  
For his love Severus is not finding  
Until the library doors swing open  
And she drops her load with a cry

She runs to him, she embraces him  
With relief she is crying  
Hermione admits she was returning her old books  
And bringing more to read to him as he slept

They walk, they talk  
And her news is most surprising  
Hermione cleared his name  
And their child is growing well and healthy

They sit, they speak  
She tells him of Harry surviving  
Of the Dark Lord's fall and final end  
And the Wizarding World's gratefulness to Severus

The mark is gone, the mark is _gone_  
No more than silver scarring  
He brushes it in disbelief  
Hermione kisses it in reverence

He was hurt, she was hurt  
But wounds are swiftly healing  
He kisses her scars when she wakes at night  
And she holds him close in the early hours

* * *

The tent is there, the tent remains  
And two cracks of Apparating  
To avoid the press they have escaped  
To the place where they found love

They talk, they talk  
Of the future they are planning  
No more Dark Lords and  
No more Masters

He cooks, she makes tea  
And their fingers are entwining  
During long walks through the trees  
Or as they caress her belly

The woods are quiet, the woods are warm  
All the birds are sleeping  
As fire crackles near a tent  
That once hid them from the darkness

The air is fragrant, the grass is soft  
Their return to the world is coming  
For the owl's letter let them know  
That the furor had died down

The woods are dark, the woods are cool  
And two inside are softly sleeping  
Making this tent their private escape  
And a tribute to how their love began

The tent is quiet, the tent is dark  
Save for even breathing  
One more night in their solitude  
In their safe haven

Hermione kisses him, Severus kisses her  
With relief they are embracing  
For everything is won and packed  
And they can move forward at last

Her bag is filled, she takes his hand  
Away are they Apparating  
To the world waiting beyond the woods  
And the future they want to create

The woods are quiet, the woods are quiet.


End file.
